In the first six months of this year, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), in a department with 24 prosecutors, filed only two indictments for war crimes against three people and issued 17 warrants in more than a hundred cases with procedural disturbances, it was said at the session of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of BiH (HJPC BiH).
Jasmin Murtagic, head of the project “Improving work on war crimes cases in BiH“, while presenting the report on the work of the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH from January 1st to June 30th, said that only 17 warrants were issued in more than a hundred cases with procedural obstruction.
“I emphasize that in this period of six months, 24 prosecutors in, I emphasize, the Special Department for War Crimes, filed two indictments against three persons and made nine negative prosecutorial decisions,” said Murtagic.
He added that through previous reports, they talked about 40 indictments within two years and that this information was acceptable, but a large part of the indictments related to unavailable persons, which was previously written about.
“Two indictments against three persons in six months, you, as the regulator of the system, assess whether this is a qualitatively and quantitatively satisfactory result,” he stressed.
HJPC member Amila Mimica Kunosic said that it is unacceptable that so many prosecutors and experts work in the Prosecutor’s Office, and the number of cases and indictments is not satisfactory.
“I suggest that we, as the Council, until the next report, consider what actions in accordance with our powers we can initiate against the main prosecutors where we have no progress, and where some things are not going well and the cases are not being resolved,” she said.
The HJPC session continued yesterday, on September 7th, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
